Dune Slayers

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 2, 2010177 views6 comments

Located in the Adobe Town WSA, I took this shot a few days ago while exploring the amazing landscapes the Red Desert has to offer. I plan on revisiting in a few days as the last time I was there the wind was unbearable...60+ mph winds made it pretty much impossible to do anything. I lucked out this one morning as the wind went away for a few hours, then started right back up.

Unfortunately, congress has yet to make this a full blown wilderness area, and gas and oil companies are drilling as far in as the blm is allowing them to, including some upcoming exploratory drilling that could damage the fragile ecosystem even further. I suppose if enough people find out about this awesome place, maybe things will change. Who knows, people need heat in their homes for a year or so, which is all this area will really provide, but that's a lot of money to be made for some.

Thanks for looking.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on June 2, 2010 at 8:23 PM

The ultra wide angle lens give a nice spacious view of this place. Nice image.

- Dan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on June 2, 2010 at 9:41 PM

"Adobe Town is also one of the three most important paleontologic areas in North America (Univ. of Chicago). Fossils of long‑extinct mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates erode from beds throughout the area. Two of the most notable finds are of rhinoceros-like and tapir‑like creatures. The palentological resources have been almost continuously studied since the time of the Hayden Survey in the mid 1800's. Many specimens from the Washakie Basin are now in museums such as the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History. Locally, both the University of Wyoming and Western Wyoming College collect specimens from the WSA." --Google

Never heard of this place. Gorgeous.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on June 2, 2010 at 10:48 PM

Beautiful place Nic. Hope they can keep this intact.

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on June 2, 2010 at 11:58 PM

Nicolaus,

Wonderful desert landscape. Only complaint - wish I could view this much larger; looks like great depth and this is certainly one of those instances where a photographer would love to stick his nose right up in the print.

A beautifully balanced composition. Congrats.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on June 3, 2010 at 11:44 AM

Thanks for the comments.

Tony, the Red Desert is a photographer's playground, but it's usually ignored for places like Utah, since they seem to do a better job protecting their unique landscapes. ;]

While in Iraq, I was searching for places to visit in my state that I'd never been to, and this became one of the first on my list. While the snow melts in the mountains, I plan on spending the rest of June in areas like this. Adobe Town WSA is one of MANY WSAs in the Red Desert. Unfortunately they are only study areas, and are not exactly treated as wilderness areas. Even where they place markers blocking certain jeep trails, some rednecks (usually ignorant hunters and dudes with huge 4x4s looking for a new challenge) ignore these, and go baja off into the badlands. Still, while in this area and others, I have yet to meet a single person! I've encountered an amazing variety of animals, including wild horses. It's quite nice.

Lon, I'll try and include larger versions in the future. ;]

Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on June 3, 2010 at 12:29 PM

Looks like a great place to explore. A strong composition to show off it's beauty and the nice light.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments